


You Could Be My Luck

by AceofDreams



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate AU where you swap bodies for a day, Soulmates, canon compliant up until the start of volume 6 sorta, fairgameweek2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:54:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23215084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceofDreams/pseuds/AceofDreams
Summary: Day 4: SoulmatesQrow had never put too much thought towards his soulmate. Clover had been willing to wait patiently. Neither of them had been expecting to wake up as someone else when the world had already been thrown off balance.(AU where you swap bodies with your soulmate for a day at some point in your life, initially set between volumes 5 and 6).
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Comments: 33
Kudos: 180





	1. Qrow

**Author's Note:**

> The basis of this AU is people swap bodies with their soulmate for one day at some point in their life. There is no trigger or warning for when this will occur, though most people tend to meet their soulmate while still fairly young.  
> The first two chapters are set between volumes 5 and 6, and the third chapter is set at the start of volume 7 (and mostly canon compliant).

Somehow, waking up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar body wasn’t the most off-putting part of the experience. No, what really did Qrow in, was knowing that his soulmate, his supposed fated other half, was one of Jimmy’s bootlickers. Just his luck.

It didn’t really add up when he thought about it. He hated the Atlesian military, hated the whole system James had put in place. So how could he ever be meant for someone who happily bought into it?

A scroll next to the man’s bed lit up, revealing a message from one Winter Schnee. Swiping through the scroll, Qrow felt himself drowning further. He wasn’t just in the body of a standard sheep, no, he was in the body of one of Ironwood’s top men, and he had less than an hour before he was speaking to the general himself.

Part of Qrow was tempted to skip the meeting and leave his soulmate to suffer the consequences. Surely he’d be doing the man a favor by giving him a taste of rebellion. But still... His own body would soon be on its way to Atlas to talk to James. It wouldn’t hurt to speed up the process. And besides, even if it did require him to tell the general about his soulmate situation, wouldn’t it be the perfect insult to know that one of his perfect soldier boys was apparently the destined match of the man who mocked him?

Swiping away an incoming message, it suddenly occurred to Qrow that he still had no idea what his soulmate looked like. He swung awkward legs over the side of the bed, noting that they seemed considerably thicker than his own. It felt like he was walking in shoes that didn’t quite fit, but he made his way to what seemed to be a bathroom with little difficulty. He hesitated in front of the mirror. This was his last chance to avoid all the soulmate bullshit. If he didn’t look now, he would never be able to recognize his soulmate. He would never find himself searching a crowd for the familiar face, never have to worry about it popping up in a dream. _But your soulmate would recognize you_ , his brain responded. _And you’re already going to be on your way to Atlas. You won’t be able to avoid him, you’d never be that lucky._ Qrow sighed, reaching up to push back hair that wasn’t there. He was already trapped in this situation, might as well take a look.

His first thought was to question his luck. Sure, he was a member of the Atlesian military and one of Jimmy’s top soldiers, but _man_ , his soulmate was attractive. Qrow stared at the man’s face in the mirror, trying out various expressions and discovering that, somehow, they all still looked attractive. And the man’s arms... Qrow flexed in the mirror, letting out a low whistle as he admired the definition of the man’s biceps. Could he have really gotten this lucky? Qrow was almost willing to entertain the idea of having his soulmate blabber at him about the wonders of General Ironwood if it meant he got some eye candy to make the ordeal worthwhile.

Speaking of the General...

Qrow opened a dresser and grabbed one of many identical uniforms, throwing it on. It seemed like his soulmate wasn’t fond of sleeves, and well... Qrow wasn’t about to complain. He used the scroll to pull up an image of his soulmate, Clover Ebi apparently, and slicked his hair back in a manner that mimicked the man’s normal style. He figured he should keep up appearances at least for the time being.

Once he was satisfied with his work, Qrow left Clover’s quarters, thanking the Brothers that Atlas was too well organized to get lost. He made his way to the General’s office in short time and walked in.

“Clover.”

The general greeted him while Winter gave a cool nod.

Now, this was where the fun would begin.

Qrow gave his best salute. “Yes, sir?”

Winter stepped forward, bringing forward an image from her scroll. “We’d like to discuss the Sabyrs spotted in Mantle this week. If we can find their source, then we should be able to greatly reduce their numbers.”

Qrow widened his eyes innocently. “Oh? You want me to do something about it?”

“Find the source, take them out.”

Winter wasted no words and Qrow felt his usual annoyance towards her rising up.

“And what if I don’t want to?” He crossed his arms, reveling in the shocked stares. “I have a life outside of licking boots, you know.” He looked away in fake annoyance.

“Excuse me?” Winter’s voice came out as a hiss.

“You heard me, Ice Queen.” Qrow shook his head. “Some of us get tired of having a stick up our ass, sorry if you can’t relate.”

James was staring in disbelief. “Clover?”

“No.” Winter’s eyes narrowed. She ducked her head as she swore. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. What the hell are you doing here,” she stepped forward, poking him in the chest, “ _Branwen_?”

Qrow’s facade dropped and a gleeful smile slid across his face.

“Wait...” James had sunk into his chair, head in his hands. “Qrow? But that would mean... Oh.” He looked up abruptly. “You’re soulmates. I mean, I wouldn’t have thought your personalities would be compatible, but your semblances...”

Qrow raised an eyebrow as he trailed off, but James didn’t elaborate.

“Never mind that. I suppose I should let you know what’s been happening here since Beacon.”

They spent the next half hour sharing their respective stories, Winter listening quietly to Qrow’s annoyance. James had insisted she remain in the room and Qrow had openly rolled his eyes.

Once they were caught up and had each processed the gravity of recent events, James leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

“Continue with your planned travel to Argus and I’ll arrange transportation from there. But for now, I’d like you to cover Clover’s duties for the day. You’ll be leading the Ace-Ops against some Sabyrs. I know you’ll be fighting with unfamiliar weaponry, but I’m sure you can make it work.”

Qrow pulled Clover’s weapon off of his belt. He had opted out of inspecting it earlier to keep on schedule, but he now released it into its full form.

“Is this... a fishing rod?”

“General.”

Qrow looked up to see four uniformed officers entering the office. These had to be the toy soldiers he’d have to spend the day with. Man, he missed his kids.

Ironwood stood up as they entered. “There’s been a slight change of plans today. I’m afraid Clover’s been... called away,” he paused just long enough for the Ace-Ops to stare at Qrow in confusion, “so his soulmate will be leading you instead.”

“His soulmate?”

The faunus had barely spoken, his tail wagging, before the large woman had shoved him aside to tackle Qrow in a hug.

“Oh, how exciting! I’m Elm, by the way! Clover’s been waiting for this day for so long, and we finally get to meet you, how wonderful!”

“Can’t... breathe...” Qrow choked out, trying to focus on staying alive and not thinking about Clover waiting to find his soulmate. Not thinking about what Clover might be like, not thinking about what Clover might be doing in his body currently, and definitely not thinking about how it was only a matter of time before he met Clover himself... Wait, had he fallen asleep in bird form yesterday?

“I’m looking forward to seeing if you can handle yourself on the battlefield.” The shorter woman was speaking, her tone undeniably cocky.

Elm finally released him and Qrow took a second to catch his breath before replying.

“I can assure you I handle myself just fine, regardless of weaponry.” He gave a judgmental glance at Clover’s combat fishing pole.

“As expected of the captain’s soulmate.” The faunus was speaking again, having finally recovered from earlier. “I bet you two will be excellent in combat together.”

“Oh, and Clover’s been needing a partner!” Elm chimed in. “You should join our team after this!”

Qrow resisted the urge to groan at the idea of working for Jimmy. He needed this conversation to end, now.

He mustered up his best confident, leadery voice. “Cut the chatter. It’s time to get to work.” He waited for the Ace-Ops to nod in affirmation before stepping ahead of them out of the office. “Bootlickers, move out!”


	2. Clover

Elsewhere, Clover Ebi had also found himself waking up in an unfamiliar place, in an unfamiliar body.

As a top member of the Atlesian military, Clover prided himself on keeping a level head regardless of the situation he found himself in; he had to be the confident face others looked to in times of crisis. But, Brothers be damned, none of that could prepare him for his soulmate being a literal bird.

Four decades of waiting, of wondering when this day would come, and here he was, in the body of a bird.

People had always been surprised to hear he hadn’t found his soulmate yet. “But you’re lucky, aren’t you?” They’d ask. “Shouldn’t your luck have helped you here?”

Clover wasn’t really sure if his semblance could extend into soulmate matters, but he honestly didn’t care too much. Things would happen when they were meant to, and patience was a virtue. Still, that didn’t keep the comments from quickly growing annoying. Whether or not he had found his soulmate was his own business, and he was tired of the pitying glances people gave him when he admitted that no, he hadn’t swapped yet. He had spent years rising up through the military, proving that everything he earned was due to his hard work, not his semblance, and all it took was a mention of soulmates for people to treat him like he was fragile and desperately in need of support.

So, this day should’ve been a blessing. Today should’ve been the day he found out about the love of his life, his fated other half, and could forever shed those obnoxious questions. And yet here he was, stuck in the body of his soulmate, a literal fucking bird. This wasn’t bad luck, this was the absence of any luck or justice in the world at all. This was beyond a worst-case scenario. Surely it couldn’t get any worse.

It could.

He had moved slightly from his secure spot on the tree branch during his panic and a harsh breeze was more than enough to send him flying. His wings, he had _wings_ , flapped wildly, doing little to slow his fall. He closed his eyes as he plummeted, not wanting to see the ground rise up to meet him. Now more than ever, Clover was desperately wishing for some good luck.

He got some form of luck. A strange feeling swept through him and Clover found himself harshly landing on his butt. The pain was largely overshadowed by the realization that he now had human limbs. He opened his eyes and confirmed that he was in fact in a human body now. Okay, maybe he could make this work.

Still didn’t change that he woken up as a _fucking bird_ , but hey, at least his soulmate was human...Unless said soulmate was actually a bird with the ability to turn into a human, which would still present several issues. Clover might have named his weapon Kingfisher, but that didn’t mean he had any interest in setting up a literal nest. Sure, his show-off tendencies might function as a decent mating dance...of sorts...but he really wasn’t interested in wooing an actual bird. He’d prefer to keep his dignity intact.

Was it really asking too much for a nice, normal man to be his soulmate? Clover always tried his best to be a good person, to support others in the way he wished he had been supported. He wasn’t about to claim he was the best person to ever exist, but man, he was at least decent. Surely he was decent enough to have a human soulmate?

Pushing himself off of the ground, he finally took in his surroundings. He clearly wasn’t in Solitas. Clover closed his eyes, trying to remember what he knew on the climate of each kingdom. It had been quite a while since he left Solitas, truth be told. There wasn’t much time for vacation when the world was constantly in danger.

He had just deduced he was most likely in Mistral when he noticed the city in the distance. Yup, definitely Mistral. If he was going to figure about anything about his bird-man soulmate, the city would likely be the place to start.

Clover had made quick work of the walk to the city, though he noted his current body’s large resistance to his proper posture, when a loud voice called out from behind him.

“Uncle Qrow!”

He had turned to find two teenage girls staring at him expectantly. The shorter girl, who was waving excitedly, had dark hair and silver eyes, while the taller girl had blonde hair and an arm so high quality that it could’ve only been made in Atlas.

“Everyone’s about to eat, come on.”

The taller girl had called out to him this time, already starting to walk on ahead.

Clover gave a small nod and followed behind the pair. If they were with others, it’d most likely be easier to explain the situation to the entire group at once. But for now, he mulled over the information he had been given. It seemed these were his soulmate’s nieces, and his soulmate...was named Crow, like the bird. What a fitting name for a bird-man.

The girls brought him to a small house where six other teens were already seated around a table.

Clover raised an eyebrow, noting that none of them seemed to look related. His soulmate’s family must be big on adoption. An honorable trait, really. One girl looked oddly familiar, but he brushed that thought aside.

He took the last open seat and had started musing over what to say when the shorter girl from earlier spoke.

“My name’s Ruby, what’s your name?”

Ruby giggled and Clover realized his shock must have been written across his face.

“How did you...?”

“You walk like a soldier, Uncle Qrow walks like... not a solider.” The taller girl spoke this time, shrugging. “I’m Yang, by the way.”

Clover leaned back, letting out a sigh. This was going easier than expected. “My name’s Clover. I’m a huntsman serving under General Ironwood.”

“Wait, you work with my sister?”

The identity of the white-haired girl, who had initially felt vaguely familiar, suddenly became crystal clear.

“Weiss Schnee? What are you doing in Mistral?”

Weiss shrugged, picking up her glass of water. “My team’s here, where else would I be?”

“Don’t you want to ask me what I’m doing here?!” The red head jumped up from her spot at the table. She grinned wickedly as Clover leaned back further. “Aren’t you interested in my story?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name?”

“It’s Nora! And that’s Ren, and that’s Jaune, and that’s Oscar, and that’s Blake!” She flopped back to the ground, satisfied with her work.

The other teens gave small waves as they were introduced.

“I’m pleased to meet all of you.” Clover looked around the room, unable to stop the feeling of warmth forming inside of him. “It must be nice to have such a large family.”

Ren opened his mouth to speak, “We’re not all—“

“We’re all one big family!” Nora yelled, wrapping her arms around Jaune and Oscar. “And Qrow’s our uncle!”

Yang, seated to Clover’s left, held a hand in front of her face as she whispered to him. “Ruby and I are his nieces, everyone else tagged along and Qrow kinda had to take them under his wing.”

“Qrow took them under his...” Clover looked around before lowering his voice. “Yang, does your uncle normally... has he ever... transformed into a, uh, you know?” He mimed the flapping of wings.

His stomach began to drop as Yang stared at him in confusion, but the weight vanished as she broke into a fit of laughter.

“Did you... Was he... A bird!” She choked out the words as she laughed, the rest of the table now staring at her in confusion. She collected herself long enough to squeak out, “He woke up as a bird!” before collapsing in another fit of laughter.

There was a moment of silence before the other teens began to laugh, ranging from quiet giggles to Nora almost screaming.

Clover watched quietly, sending a silent thanks that none of them seemed particularly thrown off by the bird detail. Oscar seemed to be almost having an internal conversation with himself, but the boy ended his muttering with a smile in Clover’s direction

“That must’ve been quite confusing,” Blake spoke, a soft smile on her face.

Clover shrugged. “To put it mildly.”

“How did it feel? Did you fly?” Ruby stared at him with eager eyes.

“I fell, so... not great. But anyway,” Clover waved his hand, “tell me about your uncle.”

“Oh, oh!” Ruby squealed. “Uncle Qrow’s the best scythe user, I’m the second best of course, and he’s a super famous huntsman. He was part of team STRQ with our parents and—“

“STRQ?” Clover frowned, searching his memory. “STRQ... Wait, Brothers...” He stared down at himself in disbelief. “We’re talking about Qrow Branwen, aren’t we?”

He couldn’t believe it had taken him this long to make the connection. Of course he knew who Qrow Branwen was. He’d seen team STRQ in action at a Vytal Festival back when he was still in the academy, and he may or may not have had some daydreams about a particularly handsome scythe wielder, not that he was about to volunteer that information.

Sitting in a room full of laughter, with Qrow Branwen as his soulmate, Clover couldn’t help but feel lucky.


	3. Atlas

Clover was not happy. He was supposed to be seeing the kids again, meeting Qrow, and yet here he was, hurtling towards Mantle instead. The report had been unauthorized use of weapons by unlicensed huntsmen. That meant the possibility of combat, which in turn meant professionals would be called in to handle the situation. But why did it have to be now?

He landed harshly on a roof, having abandoned his usual grace for speed. According to his scroll, he was only a few blocks from where the incident was reported.

“Our mission is just to capture the perpetrators,” he spoke into his earpiece, “we put them in a transport and immediately head back, got it?”

His team replied in unison and Clover felt a wave of gratitude sweep through him. They all understood what this day meant to him and their excitement nearly matched his own.

He jumped across the rooftops, pocketing his scroll as he neared his final destination. Hearing voices, he prepared his bolas, stopping short as the group came into view.

Those were very clearly Qrow’s kids. Oscar seemed to have a new outfit and Blake had ditched her coat, but there was no mistaking the group. And there, standing in the middle...

“Qrow.”

It came out as a whisper, but he longed to scream it, to yell until Qrow had to see him, to know he was there.

The thought didn’t last long, as the kids began to fall, bolas wrapping around their limbs.

“Wait, stop!” He yelled into his earpiece. “Disengage, we’re not arresting them!”

He could see the other Ace-Ops hesitate from their positions, but they all nodded.

Clover pushed down his rising nausea. This was fine, this was all fine. Yes, he was about to meet his soulmate and formally meet all of the kids after having his team tie them up. Yes, this was definitely fine and he was definitely not horribly embarrassed. Everything was fine.

He landed on the street as the other Ace-Ops began to remove the bolas. Qrow, who had immediately shifted into an attack stance, had now relaxed, and Clover was reminded that Qrow had spent a whole day with his team. Thank the Brothers, he wouldn’t have wanted Qrow attacking them, though he also wouldn’t have minded the chance to see Qrow in action...

“Sorry for the mix-up. We received a report of unauthorized use of weapons by unlicensed huntsmen, we had no idea who it was.” He gave his apology with a chuckle, pretending as if he wasn’t actually a mess.

Qrow had turned to look at him now and Clover felt himself freeze as their eyes locked.

Sure, he had seen Qrow in a mirror and in database images, but it was something else to see Qrow Branwen in person. To see the huntsman’s hair, which seemed oddly reminiscent of feathers. To take in his frame, surprisingly lithe for someone so strong. To stare into those red eyes, which threatened to trap him.

But, unfortunately, he still had a job to do.

“You know who we are?”

Ruby was standing up now, warily staring at Clover.

Right, they had no idea who he was. Sure, they had all spent a day together, but all of their interaction had been in Qrow’s body. Qrow was the only one who had seen him and judging from how the man wasn’t making eye contact anymore, he wasn’t about to volunteer that information.

Clover sighed but gave a warm smile. “We’re the Ace-Ops, we were supposed to meet you up in Atlas. That is, until you decided to take a detour, apparently.” He shook his head. “I knew you kids were trouble, but I didn’t expect you to almost be arrested this early on.”

“Wait...” Yang stepped forward. “You... Your name wouldn’t happen to be Clover, would it?” Her words were hesitant, but Clover could tell she had already relaxed.

The show-off in Clover immediately surged forward.

He put his hands on his hips and gave a confident smile. “It just so happens that my name is Clover. What are the odds?”

The moment was quickly broken by Nora releasing a high-pitched scream and hurling herself at him, Ruby and Yang following suit. Clover barely had time to adjust his stance before they plowed into him, nearly knocking him over.

“We were wondering when you’d show up!”

“This is finally happening!”

“We have so much to tell you!”

The three of them spoke over each other and Clover couldn’t help but grin at the warmth they had extended to him after only a day together. It felt like he was already a part of their family.

Qrow seemed to have similar feelings, as Clover caught him staring with an incredibly soft look on his face. He didn’t even tense when he noticed Clover staring, instead shrugging. “You know how kids are...”

Once Clover was untangled from the girls, the two groups headed up to Atlas, taking separate ships to Clover’s dismay. He tried to push down his disappointment as he waited outside of Ironwood’s office. Sure, it was a relatively short time compared to how long it had taken him to find Qrow, but it was different to be apart from his soulmate when he had only just met him.

“Golden Boy.”

Arching an eyebrow, Clover turned to face Qrow as he exited the office. “Oh, moving to pet names already?”

The reply had slipped out without him thinking, but judging from the blush on Qrow’s face it had been a solid response.

Clover could hear the gaggle of teens about to leave the office. “My quarters aren’t too far from here if you want to talk?”

Qrow nodded and took off ahead of him, and Clover was once again reminded that Qrow had already been here. Qrow had woken up in Clover’s room, he didn’t need to be told where it was.

They had fallen into a comfortable silence by the time they reached the room and Clover let it linger as he struggled to find his words.

“Listen,” Qrow spoke up hesitantly, “I don’t really know about all this soulmate business. I’m sure you know my semblance by now, I’m not exactly soulmate material...”

Clover cut him off before he could continue.

“And you know mine, don’t you? We match.” He pushed down his nervousness to slide his left hand across the table towards Qrow. “I’ve seen your semblance firsthand; I’ve _lived with it_. It’s not a deal breaker, in fact, it isn’t even a factor. It’s a part of you, how could I ever find it bad?”

“That’s... not the usual response.” Qrow sighed before letting out a small laugh. “But I guess that’s the sort of thing you’d expect to hear from your soulmate.” His eyes darted to Clover’s outstretched hand before returning to his face. “The kids really adore you, you know.”

“Glad to hear I made a good impression. The Ace-Ops... well, you definitely left quite the impact.” He pretended to think. “I believe Elm said you seemed particularly fond of the term bootlickers?”

Qrow grinned. “Is that an issue, soldier boy?”

“Already a new pet name? And no, though I hope you weren’t expecting me to lick your boots. I have standards.”

That joke earned him a guffaw and Clover smiled in silent victory.

“Alright, maybe there’s a bit more to you than previously suggested.” Qrow’s tone was mocking, but his face had grown soft. “Listen, Clover, I don’t know what’ll happen from here, but—“

“We’ll figure it out together.”

“Together...” Qrow’s hand moved to rest on Clover’s. “I’d like that.”

Sitting there with Qrow, there was only one question left in Clover’s mind.

“So, about the whole bird thing...”


End file.
